1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk player for accommodating a plurality of disks as information recording media in a disk player body, to play a desired disk.
2. Description of the Related Art
A disk reproducing/recording player (merely called the “disk player”) is known. The word “reproduce” should be construed as “reproduce/record”, so long as explicitly specified. The disk player can simultaneously accommodate a plurality of optical disks or magneto-optic disks (merely called the “disks”) in a player casing so that they may be selectively played to reproduce the information recorded therein or so that desired information may be recorded in the disk. Of these disk players, it has been desired to provide a disk player which is provided with a disk loading mechanism for allowing one disk to be inserted and extracted into and out of the disk player body even while another disk is being reproduced.
There is known, in Japanese Patent Application No. 7-282520, a disk player which includes: a plurality of sub-trays for placing disks one by one; a main tray for transferring the sub-tray; and player means for reproducing the disks. In this disk player, the plurality of sub-trays and the main tray are held at disk standby positions in the player casing. By the operation of the operator, the sub-tray, as desired to be loaded or exchanged with a disk, is brought into engagement with the main tray. The main tray is held in engagement with a main tray moving means. When the switch of this main tray moving means is turned ON, the main tray is moved from the standby position to a disk exchanging position which is located outside of the casing of the disk player. Therefore, the disk is moved together with the sub-tray from the standby position to the disk exchanging position.
After the end of the load/exchange of the disk, the switch of the main tray moving means is turned ON again by the operation of the operator. The main tray returns together with the sub-tray placing the disk, from the disk exchange position outside of the casing to the standby position inside of the casing. When the sub-tray and the main tray are disengaged at the standby position, the load/exchange of the disk is completed.
When the disk at the standby position is to be reproduced, the sub-tray placing the disk desired to be reproduced is selected and is brought into engagement with sub-tray moving means by the operation of the operator. The sub-tray is moved from the standby position to the play position, which is located in a direction different from a disk exchange position, by sub-tray moving means (or the main tray moving means disengaged from the main tray). The play means for reproducing the information from the disk moves to the play position and reproduces the information signal while clamping the disk.